TMZ Sports - Page 50

Pro Football Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti -- who famously launched a charity to cure paralysis -- has died after a struggle with dementia. He was 78.

Buoniconti was a stud linebacker at Notre Dame who was drafted by the Boston Patriots of the AFL in 1962 ... but went on to become a superstar for the Miami Dolphins from 1969 to 1976.

During his career, Buoniconti racked up 2 Super Bowl rings, made 2 Pro Bowls and was a 6-time AFL All Star. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Buoniconti believed he suffered from CTE due to his football career and in 2017 he announced that he would donate his brain for research purposes after his death.

During an interview, Buoniconti once said of his condition, "I’m positive that football caused this ... I always loved [the game]. I still do. But I’m paying the price."

Nick famously launched The Buoniconti Fund after his son, Marc, became paralyzed during a college football game in 1985. The Fund helped launch the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, which has become one of the global leaders in neurological research.

Nick and Marc were famously featured on an episode of HBO's "Real Sports."

Nick also hosted "Inside the NFL" from 1980 until 2001.

And get this, while playing for the Patriots, Nick earned his law degree and became a sports agent who represented a bunch of MLB players ... including Andre Dawson.

Yankees legendary owner George Steinbrenner once said Nick was the toughest negotiator he ever faced.

Long story short, Nick lived a pretty amazing life and will be missed.

WARNING -- If you come within 10 feet of Ben Simmons, there's a 100% chance he's gonna dunk on your ass ... and some kids in Australia found that out REAL QUICK!!

The NBA superstar attended the Helping Hoops charity basketball event in Melbourne on Wednesday ... and turned it into an absolute dunking CLINIC on the kids in attendance.

The vid is awesome ... Ben dribbles the ball up the court and puts his defender on a poster. The players lost their minds and Simmons playfully taunts his opponent for even jumping to block the inevitable dunk.

But, it's not like anyone was getting embarrassed by Simmons' rim shakers -- it looks like they WANTED the challenge of going face-to-face with the Sixers stud ... lining up to go against the 6'10" hooper.

Hey, it's not every day you can get dunked on by an All-Star ... can you blame 'em?!

By the way, Helping Hoops is all about supporting kids from underprivileged backgrounds through basketball -- basically, they run free hoops programs for more than 1,000 kids.

Cowboys fans should be pointing the finger at the NBA for Ezekiel Elliott's holdout this month ... so says Too Short, who tells TMZ Sports, basketball players "f*cked up" the NFL!!!

The rapper was standing outside of Bootsy Bellows in L.A. ... when he decided to drop the "f*cking truth" about NFL contract holdouts to our camera guy.

And, yeah ... dude says it's all Adam Silver's fault.

"The f*cking truth is that basketball f*cked everybody up in the head!"

Too Short says all the wild deals NBA owners have given out to mediocre players throughout the past couple seasons has poisoned NFL players who think they deserve MILLIONS now.

"Everybody was like, 'You get $100 million! You get $100 million! You get $150! You get $180! You get $220!' It's f*cked up, now!"

Too Short added, "Athletes are like, 'It's f*cked up. You gotta give us our money!'"

Bad news for the NFL ... it seems to be working -- 'cause Michael Thomas' holdout in New Orleans just ended with a new, 5-year $100 MILLION deal ... and most think Zeke's holdout will end in a similar way.

Hey ... is that Cam Newton in the canned food aisle?! YEP!!!

Turns out, the Carolina Panthers QB doesn't just wear his bizarre outfits to training camp, he also rocks the look at Walmart!!!

Newton was spotted at the store in Charlotte recently -- where the person who shot the pics told us Cam was cruising the aisles for about an hour before checking out.

Shoppers initially weren't sure if the man in the overalls, scarf and funky hat was actually Cam -- but, yeah ... that's definitely him. Who else would it be?!

Cam prides himself on his fashion ... nice to see the entire world is his runway, including supermarkets.

LeSean McCoy was ordered to pay $55,000 to a police officer who was injured in a 2016 bar fight that was captured on video and posted by TMZ Sports.

The fight went down at the Recess Lounge in Philadelphia on Feb. 7, 2016 ... when Roland Butler, who was off-duty at the time, got into an argument with LeSean's friend.

Cops said the fight began over a dispute over a champagne bottle. A witness told TMZ Sports things were tense ... but didn't explode until the champagne bottle was knocked to the ground and shattered.

A full-blown brawl broke out in the middle of the club ... and  you can see in footage obtained by TMZ Sports, McCoy is throwing at least one punch at Butler, who was down on the ground.

Butler suffered serious injuries in the fight ... including a broken nose, cuts to the face, broken ribs, a broken thumb and more. He claims the injuries forced him to miss months of work.

Despite video evidence and multiple witnesses, McCoy was never criminally charged over the incident ... with the person who was the Philadelphia DA at the time explaining:

"There is insufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, who started the fight and under what circumstances."

In fact, McCoy had argued at the time that he only acted out of self-defense.

Butler sued McCoy and McCoy's friend, Tamarcus Porter, a former college football player -- and the case eventually went to arbitration where they were each ordered to pay $55,000 to Butler, according to ESPN.

McCoy has already paid his judgment. Porter has not.

The NFL investigated the incident back in 2016 -- but ultimately did not punish McCoy for his role in the fight.

Jorge Masvidal has a message for Conor McGregor -- LET'S FIGHT!!!

The 34-year-old UFC superstar is on a tear right now ... he destroyed Darren Till in March and put Ben Askren to sleep in 5 seconds earlier this month and the fans have been calling on Dana White to match up Jorge with Conor.

And, guess what ... when we spoke with Masvidal, he told us he's ALL THE WAY DOWN -- if Conor wants to make it happen.

There was no trash talking ... there was no disrespect -- just one professional fighter telling another professional fighter that he's ready, willing and able to sit down and hash out a deal.

"I got good things to say about Conor," Jorge told TMZ Sports ... "He's done a lot in the sport and he's made his money already and if he feels he's not getting the money he deserves to come back, man I'm gonna be the first one to applaud him and be like do your thing my brother."

But ... "If he wants to come back and he wants somebody that's gonna stand with him and give him the type of fights that he likes, look no further my brother!"

Jorge says there's one BIG catch ... he doesn't want to have to "flirt" with Conor to bait him into the fight.

"Let's just scrap if were gonna scrap ... and if not, NEXT!"

Of course, Dana White recently told us he did NOT want to make the Masvidal vs. McGregor fight because Conor is too small physically to be fighting someone Jorge's size.

FYI, Jorge's last fight was at 170. Conor's last fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov was at 155.

But, Jorge thinks Dana's assessment is wrong -- insisting their natural weights are closer than people think. Conor also told Dana recently the "too big" argument is BS.

Besides, if they DO fight ... Jorge says he expects the two to stand and bang -- giving the fans the kind of violent show they've been begging for.

"He knows I'm only going for one thing on him -- the off button. I'm not going in there to outpoint him or nothing."

Masvidal ended with one final message to the Irishman ...

Dez Bryant is opening up on his struggles with anxiety and depression ... saying he has "no interest in playing football right now" -- but he's NOT ready to retire either.

The WR opened up about his situation after TMZ Sports published a story about Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys being sued over a 2017 car crash.

A fan on Twitter insinuated the timing of the lawsuit is fishy considering Zeke is in the middle of a holdout in hopes of landing a big new contract with the Cowboys ... saying, "I remember something like this back when @DezBryant was tryna get paid."

We think the fan is referring to the 2015 offseason when Dez was trying to get a fat contract of his own ... and multiple off-field incidents involving police from 2011 suddenly came to light in the media.

Dez responded to the fan's tweet ...

"This exactly why I don’t have no interest in playing football right now. I have not reached out to no organization trying to play ... people forget real quick we are still human."

He added, "My anxiety and depression came from this type of stuff ... what I realized nobody care but me."

Bryant eventually landed a 5-year, $70 million deal -- but the Cowboys cut him after the 2017 season, with 2 years left on the contract. He was picked up by the Saints in 2018 but suffered a season-ending injury before ever playing an official down.

Dez has been working out like a maniac ... but it's clear he's not just focusing on getting his body right, he's working on his mind too.

In fact, he posted a follow-up tweet saying, "I’m not retiring bro ... I’m just taking care of myself ... that’s a promise."

Breath easy, WWE fans ... Roman Reigns ain't leaving wrestling for his budding acting career. At least not yet.

Roman joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday and dude couldn't looked more HYPED talking about his role on "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." If you've been living under a rock ... 'Hobbs & Shaw' is the first 'Furious' spin-off starring Roman's cousin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham.

It's Roman's first acting gig in Hollywood so naturally we had to ask -- if he had to choose, which route would he go, wrestling or Hollywood? The 34-year-old wrestler didn't skip a beat ... telling us he's got at LEAST 5 years left in the ring.

'Hobbs & Shaw' has been highly anticipated for some time now and no doubt it has huge blockbuster potential with Friday's opening around the corner. But, does the film have enough horsepower to take down "The Lion King" and its MASSIVE $192 million opening weekend?

UFC star Colby Covington says he'll have major Trump support when he fights Robbie Lawler on Saturday ... claiming Donald Trump's two oldest sons will be sitting in the front row.

Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, will be on hand at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ ... along with Eric Trump, Covington says.

"They're gonna be front row at my fight this weekend when I retire Robbie Lawler," Covington says ... "This is official."

Covington is a VERY outspoken Donald Trump supporter -- not only has he met with President Trump at the White House, his red MAGA hat has become a staple in his wardrobe.

In fact, Colby tells TMZ Sports ... he's a loyal soldier in the MAGA army and would do anything to help POTUS. He's even offered to follow in Dana White's footsteps and speak at the next Republican National Convention.

Colby also says he thinks Donald would be a GREAT fighter because "he has bricks for hands" ... insisting "this guy could knock somebody out with one punch."

Colby takes on Robbie in the main event at "UFC on ESPN 5" on August 3 ... and if Colby wins, he'll likely get a title shot against UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, so there's a lot on the line for him.

Colin Kaepernick is stoked his former teammate is continuing on with the national anthem protests this year ... shouting out Panthers safety Eric Reid as "unwavering" for carrying on the kneeling.

"Unrelenting. Unflinching. Unapologetic," Kaepernick added. "Love you Brother!"

Kaepernick first started kneeling during the 'Star Spangled Banner' back in 2016 when he was the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback. He was later joined in that protest by then-teammate Reid.

After Kap was cut by the Niners ... Reid continued to protest in the NFL -- even after he was signed by Carolina last season.

But, after Reid and Kap both settled their collusion cases against the NFL earlier this year ... many wondered if Eric would keep up the protests.

Turns out, he will -- telling reporters this week at Panthers camp, "If a day comes that I feel like we’ve addressed those issues, and our people aren’t being discriminated against or being killed over traffic violations, then I’ll decide it’s time to stop protesting."

"I haven’t seen that happen."

Colin is clearly loving the message, 'cause he shouted out Reid on his social media page.

Even Kaepernick's girlfriend, Nessa, posted to her social media page praising the defensive star for keeping up the kneeling.

The Dallas Cowboys conspired with police to cover up info from a 2017 car crash that would have sidelined Ezekiel Elliott from a crucial NFL playoff game ... so says a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

The suit stems from a January 11, 2017 car crash -- 4 days before the Cowboys played the Packers in an NFC Divisional Round game -- when Zeke slammed a GMC Yukon into a BMW 750 driven by Ronnie Hill on his way to the Cowboys practice facility.

Hill claims Zeke was obviously at fault because the running back was running late to practice and had "barreled through a red light" -- causing more than $33,000 in damage to Hill's vehicle. Hill claims he suffered "serious and permanent" injuries in the wreck.

Hill says the impact of the collision was so intense, the two vehicles were "wedged together" and they needed a tow truck to pull them apart.

At the time, the Frisco Police Dept. put out a statement describing the incident as a "minor vehicle crash" ... but Hill says that's a crock of BS.

In fact, Hill claims the Dallas Cowboys "conspired with the Frisco Police Dept. to cover up the severity of the accident to assure that Elliott's health would not be placed in question before their playoff game."

According to Hill's suit, "If anyone had actually reported the impact of the accident and had Elliott been examined he would have most likely been placed in concussion protocol and out for the Dallas Cowboys upcoming playoff game."

In his suit, filed by attorney Larry Friedman, Hill claims Dallas Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown had raced to the scene of the accident and told Hill, "We will take care of everything."

Hill claims the Cowboys did NOT take care of anything -- and he's suing both Zeke and the Cowboys for $20 MILLION in damages.

By the way, the Cowboys ended up LOSING the playoff game 34 to 31 ... but Zeke played great, rushing for 125 yards on 22 carries.

We reached out to the Frisco PD and the Dallas Cowboys for comment -- so far, no word from either side. A rep for Elliott had no comment.

We spoke to Hill's attorney, Larry Friedman, who tells us, "Ezekiel Elliott believes he's above the law. He doesn't follow any rules. As a citizen and a member of our community he has a duty to obey the law and act responsibly, especially while driving a motor vehicle."

Friedman adds, "There are no exemptions for running backs or members of the Dallas Cowboys."

"He has admitted liability in this case but refuses to take responsibility as he has refused to take responsibility on so many other occasions when he has disobeyed the law."

"My client is suing for compensation for his injuries and wants his day in court."

O.J. Simpson is issuing a stern warning to Jerry Jones ... saying straight-up the Cowboys owner better open the checkbook for Ezekiel Elliott -- OR ELSE!!!!!

... or else it won't result in a Super Bowl. Definitely not anything more serious than that.

Of course, Zeke is in contract dispute with Jerry and the 'Boys, wanting a significant raise despite only being in Year 4 of his 5-year rookie contract.

Things between the two sides haven't exactly gone swimmingly ... Zeke is actually in Mexico right now instead of training with his teammates in Oxnard, California.

O.J. says that better change soon, or Jerry won't be winning a Super Bowl this year ... saying, "Without him, you may not even make the playoffs!"

Simpson also says the same thing goes for the Chargers' brass out in L.A. ... telling Dean Spanos he better pay Melvin Gordon too!!

O.J. says both Gordon and Elliott should holdout for as long as possible ... 'cause he says the only thing they have look forward to after their playing days is knee pain.

For real, O.J. even shows off his nasty knee surgery scar -- and it's gross!!

Le'Veon Bell is sending a message to his haters ... the only thing about him that's fat is his pockets.

During the offseason, Bell took a lot of heat from critics who say he looked overweight since missing the 2018 NFL season. He was often spotted on jet skis and at nightclubs ... not so much on the field or in the gym.

But, he looks pretty damn good now ... flexing his toned, ripped abs in a new music video.

The song features the NY Jets star running back bragging about his money -- and telling the haters to get off his ass.

The lyrics mostly talk about how people are jealous of his money and talent and fame ... and that's why they spend so much time obsessing over him.

This is a big year for Bell who just signed a 4-year, $52.5 million contract after a rocky breakup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Earlier this week, Bell apologized to all of the fantasy football owners who drafted him in 2018 ... and promised he would deliver BIG numbers in 2019.

Not exactly the Hollywood ending he was hoping for ...

The Oakland Raiders have announced they've cut former "Last Chance U" star Ronald Ollie ... the defensive tackle who was a fan favorite during the Netflix reality the show that followed him around East Mississippi Community College.

Ollie flashed all sorts of big time potential on the show ... and earned himself a scholarship to Nicholls State, with some help from EMCC counselor Brittany Wagner.

After 2 solid seasons at Nicholls State, Ollie signed with the Raiders earlier this year as an undrafted free agent ... and some thought he had a real shot of making the roster.

But as the team widdles down to the final roster, Ollie didn't make the cut.

It's been 3 years since Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine's epic slam dunk contest at NBA All-Star Weekend ... and the Orlando Magic star tells TMZ Sports he's ready to RUN IT BACK!

The face-off between the 2 rim shakers is one of the greatest matchups in the event's history ... and a lot of people think Gordon got robbed after completing what might be the best dunk ever executed in the contest.

Of course, Dikembe Mutombo somehow disagreed and gave AG a '9' ... and LaVine eventually ran away with the title after the second round of tiebreakers.

TMZ Sports spoke to Gordon about whether he'd throw his hat back in the ring for next year's contest -- which LaVine's Chicago Bulls just happen to be hosting -- and he says he's DOWN!!

"I think so, it's starting to look like that," Gordon says. "It's really up to the NBA, but we're gonna do it."

We asked who he'd like to face off against ... and he name-drops his dunk foe, LaVine, and Zion Williamson!!

Huge development in the Neymar rape investigation in Brazil ... where cops have ended their probe into the soccer superstar due to "lack of evidence."

But, the 27-year-old isn't out of the woods yet ... cops are sending their findings over to the Sao Paulo Attorney General's Office which will have 15 days to decide if Neymar should be charged with a crime.

But, the fact cops haven't found overwhelming evidence against Neymar is a good indication that prosecutors will likely NOT move forward with the case.

As we previously reported, Brazilian model Najila Trindade had claimed Neymar sexually assaulted her back in May at a hotel in Paris.

In early June, Neymar published a 7-minute video professing his innocence -- and showing WhatsApp messages between the two in an effort to prove that "nothing really happened."

Neymar also claimed he was being extorted by the woman.

For her part, she has accused the Brazilian police of being corrupt and helping to cover up evidence ... saying, "The police are bought, aren't they? Or am I crazy?"